When school is out, the sun starts to shine, and temperatures start to peak, the richest kids attend the most expensive summer camps in the country. Every year, for six to eight weeks (and sometimes longer) these camps open their doors and offer the children a wide list of activities, as well as exclusive amenities you won’t find at a regular camp in the woods. However, parents will certainly find themselves dropping anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 for the summer of their child’s dreams every year, because gourmet food and jet-skiing isn’t cheap.
Another tricky aspect of these elite camps is that, much like the Ivy-league pre-schools, they have a selected list of VIP kids, who have their spot reserved every summer, as a result of their family legacy at these institutions. This means that many of the new-rich kids are waitlisted since they’re born. While working at a luxury camp may not be amongst the 8 best summer jobs for college students, the camps themselves are quite magical. Let’s take a look at the most expensive summer camps and what they have to offer.
6. Camp Cedar and Camp Mataponi
Price: $11,100 for 8 weeks
If you drive down to Casco, Maine, you’ll find this all-boys ultra-preppy summer camp. Located on Brandy Pond, which connects to the large Sebago Lake, the boys here have to follow a strict wardrobe code (the camp requires a different jersey for every sport), with every detail specified on a list at their arrival. The all-girls Camp Mataponi, situated on the Sebago Lake, costs the same, but is less petty, focusing more on teaching girls to water ski, sail, rock- and rope-climb, and much more.
5. Camp Laurel
Price: $11,300 for 7 weeks
A co-ed institution, Camp Laurel houses 480 boys and girls (with equal ratio), between the ages of 7 and 15 on its 160 acre-large campus. Located on the Echo Lake in Readfield, Maine, the camp offers a wide range of activities like ski boating, dance classes, and outdoor roller hockey, as well as several fieldtrips. Furthermore, the camp regularly organizes festivities for the kids so they can socialize.
4. Camp Vega
Price: $11,600 for 7 weeks
Yet another camp set on the lovely Echo Lake in the Pine Tree State, this all-girls camp is especially keen on helping kids bond with each other. The uniformed girls engage in friendship-building scenarios like the “sunset circle”, where they form a bonfire circle and share stories and secrets of their past.
3. The Timber Lake Camps
Price: $11,800
Spread out over 500 acres in the Catskill Mountains, near Kingston, these two camps house both boys and girls in separate facilities, each with its own private lake. Apart from receiving several well balanced meals a day (fresh salad bar, pasta bar, etc.), the kids here can do yoga, martial arts, or spinning at the fitness center. For the swimmers, Timber Lake’s campgrounds include an Olympic size heated pool, as well as an indoor pool, in addition to the lakes.
2. High Cascade Camp
Price: $14,360 – $16,760 for 8 days
For the snow lovers, this is a true dream camp. Situated on the snowboarding slopes of Mt. Hood in Oregon, kids and adults can spend eight days practicing and learning to snowboard from Olympic trainers. While the price varies according to accommodations, it does include all of the necessary equipment, sponsored by brands like Adidas, Vans, DC, Nike, and Gatorade. With no restrictions to age or experience level, this camp’s staff ratio of 1:2 promises to show improvements in no time.
1. Pali Adventures
Price: $1,865 per week
Located in California’s San Bernardino National Forest, this summer camp opens its doors to campers between the ages of 9 and 16, from June 15 to August 16. The camp focuses mainly on sports like mountain biking, paintball, or jet skiing, but its 18 different programs also include a wide variety of specialties, such as acting, culinary, fashion, Hollywood stunts, or extreme action. There’s something for every taste, as long as the parents are willing to pay.
